march 29 2014 (ii)

march came and go... comes april

many things happen this year

more good things than bad things, that is..

1) i graduated from my PhD... thats finishing my school finally
2) a new car
3) a new house
4) a more laid back work load
5) a new hobby or a lifestyle
6) a new leather jacket
7) a new medical card
8) a new phone.. a phone i have been waiting for a very very long time
9) i began to learn the art of stock trading

and a few more which i probably forget to mention... its 5 in the morning afterall

but its going well for me.. so far

and i hope it continues

momentum will stall or stop one way or another..

till it hits the brake or a barrier...

just ride the wave

***********************

one young man who just graduated from stpm earlier this year, asked me a question

what he should study for university as degree

the course is not important i mention... its the circle of friends you mix with that is important

be hardworking and work towards the direction of being an entrepreneur... in Malaysia.. as an employee, you can always only go that far

never underestimate own capability...

^^

to this young lad, i c bright future in him... never seen such a hardworking and good attitude young person so far... because it is so lacking or rare to find this type of person here in KL, those that work really hard, not those so called workaholic wannabe.. will definitely taste success

march 29 2014

really?? the person who wrote this must be a little crazy up there

i don't see many ladies who willing to taste that so call bitterness.. the few that do, i do not call them unique nor special.. those are legends.. but majority will be the first to bail out..

so this statement is by far the most stupid statement ever written by some stupid women... that has no idea what does bitter means...

i also overcome a story... let me share

scenario A and B

A) girl ask boy what does he likes about her... boy answer because she is pretty, kind, have good body figure, has a nice smile and is smart...

b) girl ask boy what does he likes about her.. boy answer because she is kind to the people around her, she respected the elderly, that her kindness touches him and makes him want to protect her more and care for her

i think this statement is also written by the same idiotic women...

a guy loves a girl because she is being kind to others?? really??

i personally wont go and love a girl because she is kind to others or because she respected elders.. those are attitudes that should have..

important is, that girl makes the man... able to improve himself, makes him feel worry less and also burden less , that they are compatible, and are happy together..

damn these retard ladies keep writing these stupid stuff.. no wonder nowadays ladies are screw up in their brain.. they only want pussy whip boys.. then complain they are not man enough... then complain they are not successful enough, then complain they are not ambitious enough, then complain they are not bad ass enough...

you know what a guy want from a lady?

u supporting him through thick and thin... regardless of the situation..

many times you think u stick by him through thick and thin... cheer him up when he's down... THAT'S IT... simple..

but surprisingly, nowadays not many ladies can do that... because of the society fairy tale..

21 march 2014

i pass!! oh wow.. what a journey.. after 3 years of studying.. :D

My prof asked if i'm interested to follow him through to BRRC (biodegradable polymer research council) as a research assistant as they are setting up their research centre here in Malaysia. located in PAHANG.. wonder why all research centre located in PAHANG

too near to lynas.. make me hesitate

anyway... i'm happy that i completed my studies.. simple

political career ending?

SHOCK has turned to anger after two court rulings in the space of a few days in effect suspended, if not finished, the careers of two of Malaysia’s most prominent opposition politicians. First, on March 7th, the veteran leader, Anwar Ibrahim, of the opposition’s alliance, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), had his acquittal in 2012 on a charge of sodomy overturned by the Court of Appeal; he now faces five years in jail. And then on March 11th Mr Anwar’s lawyer, Karpal Singh, also an MP and chairman of one of the three parties that make up PR, was convicted of sedition. He escaped prison, but was fined 4,000 ringgit ($1,250). The conviction was enough to ensure that by law he has to stand down as an MP.

Both are appealing against the verdicts, which have drawn widespread condemnation, from Malaysia’s own lawyers among others. In the case of Mr Karpal, even the UN has joined criticism of the prosecution for using outdated and discredited legislation to secure the conviction. The opposition alleges that the prosecutions amount to a concerted offensive to hobble it after its best-ever result in the general election held last May. Sedition charges are hanging over several other activists and opposition politicians, including Tian Chua, vice-president of Mr Anwar’s party.

There was a strong sense of déjà vu about Mr Anwar’s conviction. His case has been rumbling on since he was accused in 2008. Known locally as Sodomy 2.0, it followed Mr Anwar’s conviction and jailing for the same offence in 1999, a verdict that was overturned in 2004. Since colonial times, sodomy has been illegal in Malaysia, which has a Muslim majority, but prosecutions are rare. Mr Anwar argues that he is a victim of politically motivated charges designed to knock him out of politics.

Certainly, the sodomy cases seem to come at the most inconvenient times. Mr Anwar’s latest sentencing came only a few days before he was due to be nominated as a candidate in a critical by-election for an assembly seat in Kajang in the state of Selangor, Malaysia’s richest. People in the court were surprised at how quickly the three judges wrapped up the trial and handed down the jail term. Had he won in Kajang, he was expected to become Selangor’s chief minister. That would have afforded him a good perch from which to assail the government. Mr Anwar is now disqualified from holding political office.

The legal basis of the conviction of Mr Karpal has, if anything, caused even more outrage. The lawyer has been found guilty of sedition for a remark he made during a press conference in 2009, when he merely expressed his legal opinion on a political dispute in the state of Perak. He said that the sultan could be legally challenged for his decision to remove the then-incumbent chief minister during a political crisis. This was deemed to be an attack on the sultan. The Sedition Act, dating from 1948, is so outmoded that the government itself promised in 2012 to remove it from the statute book. Yet not only is it still in place, but it is now being used with renewed vigour, belying government claims before the election that it had embarked on a great reform of Malaysia’s outdated and oppressive British colonial laws. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is one of many international organisations and NGOs to have condemned the continued use of the Sedition Act in general, and its use in this case in particular.

Another group, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, accused the Malaysian government of “an ongoing systematic persecution” of the opposition. The government denies any meddling in judgments reached by a judiciary it insists is independent. And the verdicts may indeed be a mixed blessing for it. PR hopes they will help an often fractious alliance to unite in adversity. Indeed, the public outrage against the convictions may give it an immediate bounce in the Kajang by-election where Mr Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah, a political figure in her own right, will now contest the seat in his stead. This will not be the first time that she has had to take her husband’s place in an election, and may not be the last

13 march 2014

As usual, every morning i will listen to the radio.. today in particular 988.. they speak of the topic of facebook misleading the people. Some people posting fake news or old news which cause many upsets.. their discussion is what should we do about it

some say they will clarify and reply with a real statement, some say they will unfriend these people while others say they will not like or share fake stories

my take is this.. why are u guys so free in reading facebook? and to take facebook as the main source of media to get news? really?

its a social network and u should use as what a social network design for. networking or social updates

not news

and then there's people who run their mouth saying we should migrate, the government is incompetent, that our country is a joke

1) now only u know our government is incompetent?

2) migrating is never a bad thing if you get a better lifestyle, y not?

3) malaysia has always been a joke

i'm not particular sad or angry nor do i even bring up the plan topic when i talk to others... to many people here in Malaysia.. life is not something precious.. that's why so many death occur and no action ever taken to prevent it from happening again

it's about looking after own self, that's it.. a selfish country.. true..

some article for everyone to read

With an international team of investigators still seemingly baffled about what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared over the weekend, relatives of the passengers and diplomats from countries touched by the mishap have vented their frustration with the Malaysian government. For days, it seems, Malaysian officials and the state-owned carrier have released almost no information about the flight or working theories of why it vanished. Malaysia Airlines did not even inform relatives for 15 hours that the plane had disappeared, sending the distraught families to a hotel in Beijing to wait, and Kuala Lumpur’s envoys still have mostly kept the relatives in the dark days later.

More than 100 friends and relatives of the vanished passengers signed a petition on Monday calling on the Malaysian government to be more transparent and answer questions. Several of the relatives threw bottles at Malaysia Airlines employees who came to speak with them in Beijing, where the missing plane had been headed, but mostly the officials maintained their tight-lipped approach.

The frustration felt by families of the missing is understandable and reasonable, but no one should have expected much better from the Malaysian government. Although theoretically a democracy with regular, contested elections, Malaysia has been ruled since independence by the same governing coalition that has become known for its lack of transparency and disinterest—even outright hostility—toward the press and inquiring citizens. For a relatively wealthy country, Malaysia is also unusually prone to corruption. Since the Sept. 11 attacks and the revelations that al-Qaeda members had convened planning meetings in Malaysia, the government has become intensely controlling of any information about potential terror threats while maintaining a liberal visa policy for arrivals.

Malaysia’s actual air safety record is, according to aviation experts, relatively strong. That achievement is unsurprising for a country with a per capita gross domestic product of about $10,400, which has become a global hub for electronics production and other high-tech manufacturing. Before the disappearance of Flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines had not suffered a fatal crash since 1995. Kuala Lumpur, where the plane originated, has an even higher GDP per capita than the rest of the country—about $18,000—and boasts a vast, modern skyline, efficient transport, and gleaming new suburbs.

But Malaysia’s politics have not kept pace with its economic expansion. The long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has continued to win elections through massive gerrymandering, outright thuggery, and opposition parties’ inability to stop squabbling and make connections with rural voters.

In the most recent national elections, held in May 2013, the Barisan Nasional coalition won the largest number of seats in parliament, although the opposition actually won the popular vote; only gerrymandering, massive handouts to voters, and many election irregularities ensured the Barisan Nasional’s victory. In addition, the ruling party squeaked home by appealing primarily to the most hardline elements within its coalition, politicians and voters disdainful of the country’s multiethnic identity and the incremental freedoms of expression and social life that have developed in the past 20 years.

So even though Malaysia is far richer than neighboring Indonesia or the Philippines, those countries’ histories of democratic politics have made their politicians more accountable and more attuned to public expectations. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has had only six prime ministers and the senior ranks of the ruling coalition have gained little fresh blood. In the current crisis, Prime Minister Najib Razak has made few substantive comments on the plane, while Malaysia’s major state-controlled media outlets, which in theory could have been ahead of the plane investigation story, have been very timid in their reporting.

This lack of accountability filters down, especially at state-owned enterprises such as Malaysia Airlines, which are notorious in Malaysia for insider dealing, corruption, and lack of transparency. Even before the crash, Malaysia Airlines’ parent company had lost money the last three years, including a huge loss of more than $350 million in 2013, in part because of its terrible management. One comprehensive study of government-linked companies, conducted by a group of economists in Australia and Malaysia, found that Malaysia state-run firms had worse corporate governance than publicly traded Malaysian companies not controlled by the state. Partly because investors understood that state-run companies were so poorly managed, the study found lower overall valuations on the Malaysian stock market. In other words, these state companies traded at a discount because of their mismanagement.

Malaysia’s lack of transparency and weak institutions have made graft and corruption endemic, making it easy for people to be smuggled in or out of the country, often on stolen passports. The watchdog organization Global Financial Integrity has ranked Malaysia as one of the countries with the biggest illicit outflows of money in the world, while corruption monitoring organization Transparency International ranks Malaysia 53rd in the world in terms of clean government, below many poorer nations with fewer potential resources to combat graft.

At least two of the people on the vanished flight, and possibly more, apparently traveled on stolen passports and may have been migrants using people smugglers to get through Malaysia and on, eventually, to Europe. The head of Interpol, Ronald Noble, has expressed surprise at how easy these people with stolen passports boarded the plane.

Malaysia’s fraught relationship with other Muslim-majority countries and the U.S. has made Kuala Lumpur’s leaders, never very transparent, even more opaque when it comes to intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism. Although no one seems to have determined whether the flight’s disappearance is related to terrorism, do not expect the Malaysian government to be the one providing any answers to the public if it turns out terrorism was involved. Malaysia has long had a relatively liberal visa policy toward Muslims from other countries, in part because it needed foreign workers and in part because this policy had traditionally been popular. (That policy, in part, is why Osama bin Laden recommended Malaysia as a place for terror operatives to meet and for wounded fighters to recover.)

But at the same time Malaysia has maintained a relatively liberal visa policy, it has cooperated closely with Britain and the U.S. on intelligence and security matters. This cooperation has always been extremely unpopular with the majority of Malaysians, and so successive prime ministers have worked hard to conceal it from public discourse. Unfortunately for the relatives of the vanished plane, the prime minister’s natural secrecy seems to have become so normal, for him and other government officials, that he cannot break the habit even in times of horrible tragedy

***************************************************

if asked will i ever migrate.. couple of years back, i will answer u in a skip of a heart beat.. but not now anymore.. i don't hate this country nor do i love it to death.. however it can grant me the lifestyle that i want, maybe years down the road i might have a different mindset.. but as of now.. at age 30 where i think i should build my profile and networth.. i think i'm better off staying here...

March politic

i read many online blog and blast about black day for malaysia politics


After a very long six years, the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy case has finally come to an end.

On Friday (07.03.2014) evening, the Court of Appeal overturned the PKR de facto leader's acquittal, as they found him guilty of sodomising his former aide six years ago.

The 66-year-old is looking at a long jail sentence, and with the verdict, he will be disqualified from all his political positions and will not be the PKR candidate in the Kajang by-election to be held later this month

***********************

this is what everybody is hyping aboug in the social media yesterday and today

were there ever a bright day in malaysia politics before??

its not really about fair or unjust.. but rather.. what are you going to do about it.. the normal citizen of malaysia..

be it whichever party you support.. or ideology that were defended

what are you going to do about it?

the way i see it?? Malaysian doesn't really have any balls to do anything... the best they can do it just behind the computer and write silly comments

Even when it come to rally.. it's a peaceful rally?? whats the point of doing rally then.. to get media attention?? what attention do you want when your attention is also directed to people who is like you in the first place.. just now how to write silly comments and do peaceful rallies..

Thailand take things into their own hand, venezuela did.. ukraine did.. greece did.. brazil did.. 

let's face it.. the brave one are put into hardship

left are those men with ladies part

************************

then the story will come... what am i going to do about it??

let me put it this way... absolutely nothing

what about my children future?? 

honestly future depends if you know how to make money here in Malaysia.. for with money, you literally can do shit

even an ideal system or government doesn't mean you will earn money which is unfortunate because in Malaysia.. so long as you have money, you have power and eventually have future

its best the politician drew sword and fight to the death.. 

already 2014.. the next recession cycle is near.. are you prepare??

8 march 2014

i began to indulge myself into bursa Malaysia as of recently.. through weeks of studying and reading, i realize how fun stock market can be

1) its a great fun to play shares

2) you began to read more financial and business articles

3) you began to understand how the economic works in Malaysia

4) being a remiser is considered a "piece-of'fillet-fish" because with internet, there is no need for this type of people nowadays

5) stock doesn't earn you millions but is definitely yield higher and faster return than Fixed deposit and property

of course there are a few downside

but in noway is it high risk high return because you certainly don't go high risk.. that's what i always told myself

we don't need high risk stuff... as its passive income, not active

so long as in active income we are doing something so special and professional that there aren't many talent that can do what you are doing.. it already can yield yourself a high return..

invest in education is more important because knowledge is forever..

As i enjoy reading... i find filling up my free time to read and trade shares is better than exchange it to do certain job which drain energy

probably i'm getting old myself.. i don't posses that young energetic shoot to the roof top type of power.. lol

as 2014 came.. i gt myself few new things to kick start a new 30 lifestyle

1) a new car... yes i got myself a new ride.. nothing fancy but is definitely a ride that i feel comfortable and enjoy

2) a new phone... an iphone 5s... ^^ which i have wanted sooooooo much..

3) a passive income to fill up my time.. which is trading stocks

4) a new house... which i hope loan approve

5) getting healthy... joining boxing classes had certainly helped a lot

6) completing my phd... which i had!! ^^

and this year will be building this foundation...

i think we human should take time to embrace and enjoy life... as hard as life seems.. i began to take a different route of sight and is feeling bless..

what is past will be part of a memory and i'm looking forward in being better and happier me... greater?? not really but i enjoy my current lifestyle..

6 march 2014

his status make me smile... and laugh

5 march 2014

The most important decision in our life is our career. It's literally our purpose in life. What else is our purpose in life, if not the endeavour to which we dedicate the bulk of our energy and waking hours, for decades of our mental and physical prime?

well said, copied from notes elsewhere
******************************
I've identified three conditions for a successful career, summarised into questions:

1) Can I earn money doing this?
2) Am I good at this?
3) Do I even like this?

Ideally, we want to have a career that we like, we're good at, and can make us money. It often isn't very possible to have all three, because, well, for starters, some of these conditions are already contradictory. Condition 3 implies a fun job, but, if it's such a fun job, why would people need to pay you so much, or at all? This contradicts condition 1.

Plenty of people would do fun things for free even, like sports or performing arts. Conversely, high-paying jobs like being a lawyer or auditor usually suck, because they need to be high-paying to incentivise smart people to even want to do these shit jobs. If you're a lawyer or auditor, I bet you think you deserve a raise, not a pay cut. That's exactly my point. You wouldn't really bother demanding a raise for something you're already having a blast doing.

There's also a possible contradiction between conditions 1 and 2. Just because you're good at something doesn't mean that people will pay you for it. I'm pretty damn good at Slitherlink, but, because solving Slitherlink puzzles in record time has no market value whatsoever, I can't make it my career. Conditions 2 and 3 can also contradict one another. I'd probably make a mean chemist (I'm a Singapore Chemistry Olympiad Gold medal winner), but I hate chemistry and science with all my guts, so that industry is a no-go.

In choosing a career, we're often forced to sacrifice one or more conditions. Manual labourers probably hate their jobs and get paid very little but get hired only because they fulfilled condition 2. They probably don't have much of a choice, because they're only good at so few things. Others like most educated professionals probably have conditions 1 and 2 satisfied, but find condition 3 impossible to achieve. Some very enviable ones have all three fulfilled, including prominent actors, singers, athletes, authors, artists, and (arguably) entrepreneurs.

Here's me inevitably bruising your ego: you're probably not smart, determined, or fortunate enough to fulfil all three conditions. But that doesn't mean that we can't put some thought into carving out our optimum career path. We still need to find ways to prioritise the conditions, in order to determine which conditions we're willing to sacrifice and which are mandatory to us. Since most of us are educated and middle-class enough, we actually do have a choice in the career question.

Here's what I think about:

(A) Sacrificing condition 1 (money)
Choosing a career that can't make you money is pretty stupid. Money is the key to sustainability. Most of us don't make this mistake, however, because we're materialistic whores whose ego, comfort, and happiness are derived from material possessions.

But let's go deeper than that... You know what's more stupid? Always choosing guaranteed money upfront over potential money in the future. Some careers are pretty straightforward, like engineering. All engineers make money, upfront and guaranteed. Others are more complicated, like entrepreneurship or filmmaking. We have obscure and flat-out-broke directors who direct short film after short film for years and still haven't found their big break; yet we also have ultra-famous billionaire directors like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and James Cameron. Ditto entrepreneurship: for every Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Groupon founder, there are like a million others who're broke or just barely surviving.

This is where it starts to get hazy. Should you go for something with a 100% chance of paying you $5,000 a month now or something with a 1% chance of paying you $5,000,000 five years from now? Believe it or not, either answer is right; it simply depends on your "risk appetite" (a euphemism for "capability"). Just don't choose a career that neither pays you $5,000 a month now nor possibly pay you millions in the future.

Starving now while working on a disruptive business model = Smart
Indulging in carving eggshell art just because you like it and are good at it = Dumb

(B) Sacrificing condition 2 (competence)
Choosing a career that you like and makes money sounds great, IF you're good at it. Trying to dabble in a line in which you simply have no aptitude is a recipe for disaster, because your suckiness will catch up with you faster than you can get your first paycheck. It seems obvious that you shouldn't even try to make it in something in which you totally stink at, like trying to be a professional badminton player when you've been overweight your whole life. It's irrational and self-defeating to choose a career for which you have no talent.

...except that it isn't. Avoiding a career that would otherwise earn you money and keep you happy working on it, just because you suck at it, is incredibly stupid, too. "I'm just not good enough" is the hallmark of a failed human being, because, out of the three conditions, condition 2 is the only one within your control -- it's changeable! You shouldn't ever forgo a career that you like and makes money, because it's really rare to have that love and money combination. The solution is obvious: get good at it, then try again.

(C) Sacrificing condition 3 (happiness)
Fact: the vast majority of us aren't happy in our careers. We dread Mondays, we look forward to Fridays, we feel the need to reward ourselves with shopping or drinking at the end of every work day to substitute for the fulfilment that we couldn't find at work, we're constantly "stressed" and "burnt out", we feel so exhausted by the weekends that we don't even try to enjoy ourselves anymore, and -- most tellingly -- we rarely smile or laugh while we're at work. In our minds, it's all bullshit that we have to endure just to get paid (e.g. meetings, reports, presentations, consultations, projects, appointments, sales calls, product lines, etc.). What a hopeless, defeatist bunch of people!

Instead of quitting and finding a job that doesn't compromise our happiness and quality of life so much (which is the only right thing to do), you know how we cope? Two ways: 1) we rationalise that it's all justified -- the cash makes up for the daily torture, or 2) we pretend that we find our work "interesting" or "challenging" or "have prospects" and try to love it, because, well, Steve Jobs said "love what you do".

The people who belong to category 2 are immensely retarded. In our personal relationships, we know that it's silly to force ourselves to love someone we really don't. We shouldn't need to rationalise anything, unless we did something irreversible (like marriage, where a husband is unlikely to admit his wife is a bad choice, because it discredits him for choosing her in the first place). Fortunately, job choices are reversible. Pretending to like something you don't is double-torture, because, first, you're tortured by the shitty work, and, second, you're adding torture to yourself by putting up a false front and being deluded. Stop kidding yourself. Bosses suck. Paperwork suck. Offices suck. Repetitive work suck. Work that requires zero creativity suck.

At least the people in category 1 know that their work is nonsense. They're much closer to enlightenment and career fulfilment, because at least they acknowledge the terrible nature of their job and its adverse effects on their body, mind, and soul. Sooner or later, they'll realise that it simply isn't "justified" anymore, because happiness is worth more than a few additional thousand dollars a month. These people, in fact, are more likely to find additional passive income streams to supplement their main income source, which is possibly the next best thing to quitting outright.

I think happiness should be ranked equally as important as financial prospects in choosing a career, i.e. if something doesn't keep us BOTH happy and well-fed, keep looking for another career. After all, money is a means to an end: we'll ultimately use it to buy stuff and experiences to make ourselves happy. Happiness is an end in itself. I bet most people would say happiness is the meaning of life, not money.

Or put it in another way: you spend the majority of your life at work (including all your prime years). Do you want to spend all those decades being unhappy? That's up to you. I'd rather be unemployed and live simply than to put up with bullshit and, after all that gargantuan sacrifice, merely live middle-class.

najib vs time magazine

Time Magazine, which came under scrutiny last week for an article depicting the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Najib Razak apparent failure to deal with race relations and growing religious intolerance, will have to watch its columns.

The international weekly is said to be under ongoing scrutiny, with the matter of the article written by Zoher Abdoolcarim still under investigation by a unit tasked to monitor foreign publications at the Home Ministry.

A source said a handler at the ministry is preparing a report that will be submitted to the Ketua Setiausaha (Chief Secretary) of the ministry, soon and it is only then a decision will be taken on Time article.

Time Magazine was urged, in a meeting with several people, to report on ‘more positive’ aspects of Najib Razak’s leadership, the source said.

Have the guts to face up to the consequences of your actions & policies!

While the magazine was cleared for distribution in Malaysia, the interested parties were urged to halt all negative comments against the Prime Minister.

“While the magazine was released on time in neighboring countries, its release in Malaysia was delayed by a few hours,” the source said.

The article entitled “Losing Faith’ and published in the March 2 issue of the magazine, implies religious harmony is under severe strain in Malaysia, and lambast Prime Minister Najib Razak for his apparent mishandling of the deteriorating situation.

Churches and Mosques has come under attack in the country in the recent past, while the nation seems divided over the issue of the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims, despite a Court ruling that disallows Christians to use the word in their sermons.

The Time magazine article said the Malaysian system, which worked well in the past, is now under strain stating in recent months, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which leads the ruling coalition in Malaysia has become more strident about its brand of Islam.

The Department of Statistics in Malaysia stated this week as at 2010, Bumiputras (Malay-Muslims) make up 67.4% of the population, Chinese (24.6%), Indians, (7.3%), with other races making up the remaining 0.7%. - http://wfol.tv/2014/02/time-urged-project-positive-image-pm/

Time Magazine ticked-off over article in Malaysia?

Time Magazine came under scrutiny in Malaysia when its distributor was ticked-off over an article that did not please the Malaysian authorities on the current government’s handling of religious tolerance level.

The article implies religious harmony is under severe strain in Malaysia, and criticized the way Prime Minister Najib Razak is handling deteriorating situation.

Time went further in its criticism of Malaysia, stating the country is not a progressive society under Prime Minister Najib Razak pointing out there is a critical front undergoing testing times, and that is religion.

Time, through the pen of its Asia Editor, Zoher Abdoolcarim said Malaysia – where US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit in April this year – is an example among Muslim states and matters more because it is a study in how a country can or cannot reconcile Islam with the contemporary age.

“The challenge is greater for Malaysia given its distinct ethnic groups, about half of the 30 million population is Malay, nearly a quarter Chinese, followed by indigenous peoples and Indians.” Zoher Abdoolcarim wrote in the March edition of Time.

In the op-Ed, Zoher said he was right about Najib as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, but wrong in his assertion that Najib will be the man to enable Malaysia’s transition from tradition to modernity.

In the article entitled ‘Losing Faith’ Zoher wrote Najib was a moderate when he came to power in 2009, introducing changes that made Malaysia more open, but things changed almost immediately after.

“He has backtracked since to appease UMNO conservatives, many of whom want him out.” he wrote, adding that ‘religious jingoism is a bigger sin than political calculation, because how a society treats its ‘other’ reveals its core.’

He said the Malaysian system, which worked well in the past, is now under strain stating in recent months, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which leads the ruling coalition in Malaysia has become more strident about its brand of Islam.

“During a party conclave in December, several UMNO leaders called specifically for Sunni Islam to be enshrined as state religion. This came after the arrest of two Shi’ite Muslims for possessing books on Shi’ite Islam” he wrote.

He also pointed out the growing intolerance on the use of the word Allah in reference to a non-Muslim diety, even though such usage has long been common. He also referred to the seizure of bibles in the state of Selangor, controlled by the Opposition, as a form of the growing religious intolerance in Malaysia.

Zoher quoted two verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, urging those who would impose their dogma to take heed!

The article can be read on Time.com website here: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2166088,00.html

3 march 2014(ii)

2014 Chinese new year came and gone....

ushering march 2014.. and just like that, it enters the third month of 2014.. seems pretty fast to me... usually when it's march came while i was in Canada.. i'm just starting to get excited.. it means the cold is leaving and autumn is coming..

so past saturday, i decided to go and do some shopping.. i really want to get myself something for 2014 but i was never free, now i'm my time is more flexible.. i just go and make it happen..

but my god is the traffic bad on saturday... i was stuck in the traffic for more than 2 hours for just a small trip to bukit bintang.. crazy Kuala Lumpur

i eventually end up buying a leather jacket for myself

i think it's faux leather and not a real leather.. but then whats the need of getting one when it's dead hot here in Kuala Lumpur..

i never had one and just wanted to have one.. beside, the other things that i wanted.. are too expensive that i can't afford to buy... even if i can afford, it's heart breaking to part away with that sum of money

the jacket is cheaper

i think i probably will wear it once or twice a year...

but at least in that one or twice.. i can feel happier i'm wearing a new jacket

nobody would understand this mentality.. i think buying something for ownself as a form of reward.. is always worth the price..

^^

and i still have an expensive shoe that i brought but i have yet to wear it..

crazy man

3 March 2014

SINGAPORE - Forget market trends. Forget market timing. If one believes that the global economy will be stronger in five years' time, the present is always the best time to invest in shares.

That view comes from someone who remains fully invested in stocks even as volatility roils markets around the world.

For Mr David Kuo, chief executive of Motley Fool Singapore - a portal that offers stock market and investing information - the ability to recognise a good company, one that is run by strong management, is more important than timing investment market trends.

With that skill, the investor is always ready to jump in when a stock looks undervalued.

Unlike investors who believe that only high-growth companies can generate exceptional returns, Mr Kuo watches out for businesses that are "valued by the market at 50 cents, but are really worth a dollar".

As he puts it, he is "looking for a Ferrari that's selling for the price of a Volkswagen".

"That rarely happens when the market is trending higher, which probably makes me a contrarian."

The secret to high returns…

Is compounding capital growth and reinvested dividends.

I have a portfolio of good stocks that gives me plenty of opportunities to add money to.

Any cash that I don't need for the next five to seven years is generally put to work in the stock market. I just keep adding money to the companies that I like.

I am fully invested, which means that the only cash in my portfolio comes from regular dividends.

I am not a fan of fixed income, and property is too troublesome to manage.

Property can take too long to liquidate and can't be easily sold, brick by brick.

My only exposure to property is through Reits (real estate investment trusts) and the roof over my head.

My investment strategy is…

I started investing in stocks in my 20s. At the time, buying and selling were done over the phone, and getting information about companies took ages. But poring over company accounts in annual reports was a good learning experience.

Most people start out trying various investing techniques before settling on one particular style that suits their temperament and personality.

I was no different and, in my case, it turned out to be income investing. To me, it is logical, it can be rewarding and, if you pardon the pun, it pays dividends.

Investing is a business…

I am a great believer in capitalism, in allocating capital in an efficient way to achieve an acceptable rate of return.

Not many of us will have the opportunity or the resources to run our own business. But when I invest in a business, I become a part-owner. I am not involved in the day-to-day running of the business, but that doesn't mean I can't be interested in how the business is being run or enjoy the rewards when the business does well.

What should one do or have to be a successful investor?

Investing is not difficult.

The one skill to attain is how to recognise a good company when you see one. When you do, don't ever let it go, whatever the market might say.

Likewise, having the patience and the ability to stick to an investment strategy is important.

Some of the most boring and mundane companies can generate some of the most lucrative returns - if you are patient.

Within the Straits Times Index, firms such as Keppel Corp, Sembcorp Industries and SIA Engineering have delivered, on average, annual double-digit returns since the turn of the millennium.

During the dotcom boom, I mistakenly believed that the world was entering a new paradigm and invested in a company that eventually went bust.

The point is, there is no such thing as a new paradigm. The old rules always apply. If a company has too much debt or if it is making losses, then chances are it will go bust.

Many think they can dance in and out of the market and use fancy mathematical formulas and theorems to profit from shares.

It just doesn't work. The most profitable investment is the one that you understand best.

What shouldn't one do?

Never borrow money to buy shares. Leveraging - using other people's money - can amplify your gains, but it can also magnify your losses; the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.

Overtrading is another thing to avoid. Buying and selling incur costs, and every cent of cost paid out is a cent that could be earning you money in the market.

politician don't keep their promises

Politicians break their promises because voters don't rationally punish political promise-breaking.  But why do politicians want to break their promises in the first place?  What's the point of promising X, then backing out?

The simplest answer is just that circumstances change between promise time and action time.  Example: The politician says, "I'll keep us out of the war," then the country gets sneak attacked.   He doesn't keep his promise because people no longer want him to.

Another mechanism: Some people pay more attention to politics during campaigns, others during time in office.  For example, regular voters pay a lot more attention to trade policy during election season that at other times; the for exporters, pre- and post-election attention ratios go the other way.  So as long as voters don't compensate with probability multipliers, it makes sense for candidates to loudly oppose NAFTA during the election, then quietly drop the issue.

In my view, though, the most interesting and important reason why politicians break their promises is that voters have misconceptions about the effects of their favorite policies.  The upshot: If politicians did exactly what voters say they want, the results would be bad, and the politician would get blamed.  Under the circumstances, politicians who want to get elected promise to do as the people command, then "betray" them for their own good.  Making the promises helps politicians attract popular support before they get in office.  Breaking the promises helps politicians avoid losing popular support after they get in office.

A old saying tells us, "Thank goodness we don't get as much government as we pay for."  I'm tempted to add, "Yes, and thank goodness politicians don't actually do exactly what they promised."  Dishonest politics is sordid, but honest politics is absolutely scary.

1 March 2014

HE dropped out of uni, was horrendously in debt and says buying a house will ruin your life.

But instead of slumming it, 26-year-old Jack Delosa is a millionaire and one of Australia’s hottest young entrepreneurs.

He’s recently published a book Unprofessional where he says the key to success is doing everything you shouldn’t.

Forget everything you learn at school

Mr Delosa ignored the advice of his friends and family and dropped out of his commerce and law degree to start his own business. He said the “15-hours-a-week” pace at university was way too slow and he struggled to connect what he was learning with how it would work in his career.

“University teaches you the way things have always been done whereas if you want to be successful you need to innovate and develop things that haven’t done previously,” he said.

“While school can teach you foundation and theory ... we need to be careful it doesn’t inhibit our ability to think outside the square.”

It’s great hanging out with mates all day, but you can get better experience in the real world, argues Jack.

Instead he started a call centre with two friends which “went terribly” as they were working long hours and losing money.

Despite the first business failing, Mr Delosa said the trial by fire was a better apprenticeship than any university course could give him.

“Any highly successful entrepreneurs will have a string of failures behind them and that’s where their education comes from.”

Don’t buy a house

It may be the great Aussie dream, but Mr Delosa says buying a house will only tie you down.

“The suggestion that young people invest in a property first and foremost while still young is a very irresponsible piece of advice.”

“To purchase a property there are high values to entry, deposit and fees, [then people are] tied to one location and stuck paying a mortgage for 30 years they can barely afford.”

He said this only stifles your ability to do things outside the box and means people end up married to their job.

It might be a dream home, but getting a mortgage can mean you’re married to your job, Mr Delosa said.

Instead, spending $10,000 starting a business could generate thousands in income to then spend on property.

“Going into business for yourself is one of the hardest things you can choose to do. There’s no rule book, no accountability or structure like you’d find in a job. It’s stressful, it’s lonely and it causes one to question themselves,” he said.

Mr Delosa’s second business, MBE Education, works to deliver education to businesses on how to raise money from investors. It was earning him more than $1 million a year by age 22.

“It’s not for everybody but for those who think they can build the emotional muscle required to sustain that kind of environment it’s the most rewarding thing they’ll ever do.”

Forget working your way up, go straight to the top

Mr Delosa said rather than sit and wait to be plucked from obscurity, find the best people to learn from and approach them direct.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Why not make it the top?

He has worked with Richard Branson at his entrepreneurial centre in South Africa and is now working with Scott Farquhar of Atlassian to build the entrepreneurial community in Australia.

“Smart people do exist outside the four walls of universities ... I’ve connected with some of Australia’s wealthiest people by sending them a message on Facebook,” Mr Delosa said.

Always mix business and pleasure

Forget the old adage that you should keep the two separate; some of his best employees are friends.

“People say don’t get close to staff. I don’t want to be close to staff I want to be really close with staff. If you can form a camaraderie and a strong bond, they’ll go the extra mile and you can have honest and frank discussions at any time. And you’ll have more fun.”

“Provided that everybody has a certain level of emotional intelligence and communication skill, working with people you have prior friendships with can yield great returns.”

Jack Delosa says bigger visions are easier to execute.

Shoot for the stars

Mr Delosa said everyone wants to be part of something big, saying “the bigger the vision, the easier it is to execute”.

“If you create a vision that is aspirational and ambitious yet you can demonstrate it’s grounded in rigour thorough research and you can deliver, then you will attract resources to that project.”

“The world’s got really noisy. If you’re doing something normal you’re not going to be heard through the noise. If you’re doing something remarkable …. You’re going to stand out.”